Handshake Row Hits U19 World Cup! India Skipper Ayush Mhatre Skips Shaking Hands With His Pakistan Counterpart Farhan Yousaf Amid Rising Tensions

India U19 vs Pakistan U19: Ayush Mhatre-led India squared off against Farhan Yousaf's Pakistan in the Super Six Group 2 fixture at the ongoing U19 ODI World Cup 2026, at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, on Sunday, February 1.

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Ayush Mhatre and Farhan Yousaf Skipped Shaking Hands At Toss

During the toss, Pakistan won and chose to bowl against India. The moment drew attention after Ayush Mhatre and Farhan Yousaf skipped the customary captain’s handshake.

This has become a recurring trend in India–Pakistan encounters, not only in cricket but across other sports as well. Earlier, during the Asia Cup 2025, India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav refused to shake hands with his Pakistani counterpart.

The pattern continued in the Asia Cup Rising Stars 2025, where India A and Pakistan Shaheens avoided handshakes. More recently, the same behavior was seen in the U19 ODI World Cup 2026.

The “handshake row” has now become a regular feature of these high-voltage clashes. It traces back to the Pahalgam Attack on April 22, 2025, in which 26 innocent civilians were killed at Baisaran Valley in Jammu and Kashmir. The attack was carried out by the Pakistan-backed group The Resistance Front.

In response, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, 2025, targeting terrorist base camps in Pakistan with missile strikes carried out by the Indian Armed Forces.

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Unbeaten India Take On Pakistan In Super Six Fixture

Ayush Mhatre-led India were placed in Group B of the prestigious ICC event, alongside Bangladesh U19, New Zealand U19, USA 19. India topped the group with six points and had a net run rate of +2.976.

After displaying a stupendous performance in the ongoing U19 ODI World Cup 2026, India are still unbeaten in the tournament.

Pakistan U19 Playing XI: Hamza Zahoor (W), Sameer Minhas, Usman Khan, Ahmed Hussain, Farhan Yousaf (C), Huzaifa Ahsan, Ali Hassan Baloch, Abdul Subhan, Momin Qamar, Mohammad Sayyam, Ali Raza.

India U19 Playing XI: Aaron George, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ayush Mhatre (C), Vihaan Malhotra, Abhigyan Kundu (Wk), Vedant Trivedi, RS Ambrish, Kanishk Chouhan, Khilan Patel, Henil Patel, Deepesh Devendran.